Politics

Proposition G Sets Precedent

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published June 9, 2010 at 8:56 AM PDT

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

Proposition G Sets A Precedent

Voters in Chula Vista have passed an Initiative that will affect competition for construction jobs in the South Bay.

Labor fought Proposition G vigorously, while Chambers of Commerce and taxpayer groups supported it. The measure changes the way the city can contract out construction work.

Scott Crosby is with the Associated Builders and Contractors, a national group which sponsored the measure. He says Chula Vista voters have set a precedent.

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“This was the first vote of the people in the entire nations." Crosby said, "This isn’t about unions, this isn’t about non unions, this is about providing the best quality at the best price and everyone has the right to work

Evan McLaughlin of San Diego’s Labor Council says the result may be that unions are effectively excluded from contracts.

“The ball is in the city’s court about how to implement this.” McLaughlin said, “If they interpret this to ban the city from hiring union members from public works projects, then we would obviously not stand on the sidelines.”

Chula Vista hopes to embark on major construction on its Bayfront. The city of San Diego has big plans too. San Diego residents will likely vote on a similar measure in November. Councilman Cark DeMaio says he has collected enough signatures to put it on the city’s ballot.

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.